Umbrella



May 13, 1941.

e. s. BERMAN UMBRELLA Filed Jan. 19, 1939- Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UMBRELLA Gustave S. Berman, New York, N. Y.

Application January 19, 1939, Serial No. 251,671

2 Claims.

This invention relates to umbrellas, parasols and sunshades of every description, and more especially it relates to certain details of construction by which the umbrella or parasol can be assembled, the partsthereof disconnected, and when assembled it can be used for rainprotection and for sun-protection and for all the customary useful purposes. It is also designed to be used as an advertising specialty and advertising novelty, and various sizes of the umbrella or parasol can be made so that with interesting illustrations and pictures colorprinted on the shield of the umbrella, it can be adapted as an instructive, educational plaything,

The objects of my invention are as follows: to provide an umbrella of strong, simple and inexpensive construction so that it can be manufactured cheaply, and sold to the public at a price within reach of all. It is designed to be used for emergenc purposes, to be sold at a low price at news-stands, drug-stores, depots, theatres, chain-stores, in fact from all conveniently located points, so that persons caught in a sudden rain can quickly procure, this umbrella and then after using it, discard it if so desired. It is also constructed so that the umbrella-shield can be easily color-printed in attractive colors,

and the umbrella utilized as an attractive advertising novelty and specialty; also, because of the fact that the umbrella-shield can be easily color-printed it is aimed to provide an ornamental educational toy with instructive stories and pictures printed on the umbrella-shield. It is aimed also to provide an umbrella which is composed of very few parts and which can be readily assembled and disassembled by anyone unskilled in the art; to provide a structure which can be easily disconnected and the parts thereof easily packed in small compass whether for display, sale or transportation.

With the aforementioned objects in View and others which will become apparent and be detailed during the course of this description, my invention consists in the parts, elements, features and combinations thereof hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have provided a drawing wherein;

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an umbrella embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22, Figure 1;

' Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail top plan View in phantom lines of a portion of the umbrella showing a means employed by me to hold open the umbrella shield.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is another design or shape of the supporting means (see Figure 3) employed by me to hold opening the umbrella shield (a modification of disk shown in Figure 3).

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on the line 55 of Figure 5.

In the form of my invention shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, I have shown a circular-shaped umbrella shield ndicated by the numeral 1, composed of corrugated or folded flexible material, the corrugations being radially extended from the central aperture [3, so as to produce external ribs, I4, and internal ribs [5, with intermediate equi-formed webs l6, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The umbrella shield I may be composed of stiff cardboard, Bristol board, papermach, fibrous material, thin sheet metal, Cellu- V loid, waterproof or moisture-resistant material found suitable for the purposes of my invention whether the latter be rigidity, strength, durability or the umbrella shield I is to be ornate or provided with ornamentation. The stick or dowel 3 may be composed of suitable wood, rubber, composition or metal, and is to be formed approximately uniform from end to end. The truncated cone-shaped cup 6 has an aperture or small circular hole 1 in its vertex, central in diameter of approximately the size of the stick 3; the cone-shaped cup 6 may be composed of suitable flexible, elastic rubber or flexible, elastic rubber compound, soft wood, metal or other flexible, elastic compound or material, and the angle of the inner slop l2 of the inner sides of this cone-shaped cup 6 coincides in angle approximately With the angle of the slope of the umbrella shield i when the said shield is spread open for use. In Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the stiff, flat, rigid supporter-disk 8 has an aperture or small circular hole 9 through its flat center in diameter of approximately the size of the stick 3. In this aperture 9 of the supporter-disk 8 is inserted or applied an elastic piece or grommet, Iii, circular in shape like a grommet, the circular center hole of which piece or grommet is in diameter of approximately the size of the stick 3. This stiff, rigid, supporter-disk 8 may also be shaped or have the design like a star (Figure 5), the periphery or circumference of the supporter-disk 8 (Figures 2, 3 and 4) having been cut into or indented to form equi-angulared grooves I l (Figure 5) into Which grooves H, the corrugations or plaits of the umbrella shield I may more securely and snugly fit or recline. This stifi, rigid supporter-disk 8 may be composed of cardboard, wood, metal, compound or other stiff, strong material found suitable.

The circular-shaped, elastic piece or elastic grommet In which is inserted or applied in the center aperture 9 of the supporter-disk 8 may be composed preferably of flexible, elastic rubber, or of flexible, elastic rubber compound, or of soft metal or of other flexible, elastic compound or substance or material found suitable. The purpose of the flexible, elastic circularshaped piece or elastic grommet I0 inserted or applied in the aperture 9 of the supporter-disk 8 is not only to re-inforce the circular edge of the aperture 9, but more importantly because of the flexibility and the especially elastic material or substance from which the said circu lar-shaped piece or elastic grommet I0 is made, tov serve as an especially good frictional agent a in the application of the supporter-disk 8 to the stick 3, thereby enabling the supporter-disk 8 tostay in place and to adhere more firmly and securely to'the stick 3 when the said supporterdlsk 8 is pushed along the stick 3 to the desired position thereon.

The stick or dowel 3 is to be inserted at its supporting end ll through the aperture [8 of the elastic grommet or circular-shaped elastic piece it] of the supporter-disk 8; then the stick 3 with the supporter-disk 8 thereon, is to be inserted at its supporting-end II through the aperture $3 of the umbrella shield l, the supporter-disk 8 at the same time being pressed up against the umbrella shield I; then the stick or dowel 3 with the supporter-disk 8 and the umbrella shield I thereon is to be inserted at its. supporting end It into the aperture I of the cone-shaped cup 6 through the mouth end of said cup, which cone-shaped cup 6 will then be pressed firmly down against the umbrella shield l whilst the supporter-disk 8 is pressed up against the umbrella shield I, and the umbrella is thus assembled. By reversing the process and method of assembling, all of the aforesaid mem bers can be quickly and easily disassembled and disassociated from the stick. The advantage as compared with other apparently similar means and methods in using the aforementioned stiff, fiat supporter-disk 8 and the truncated, coneshaped cup 6 as a means of gripping, attaching and holding the umbrella shield I in an open position to the stick 3, lies in the fact that this means, 6. and 8, accomplishes this purpose securely and firmly without the need. of exerting great pressure directly on the material of the large quantities.

umbrella shield I, which great pressure when used with other apparently similar means for holding, adversely affects the material of the umbrella shield I, which has been so experienced in such other apparently similar means of attaching and holding by pressure the umbrella shield to the stick.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the umbrella consists of four separate principal parts, the umbrella shield I, the stick 3, the stifi supporter-disk 8, and the elastic cone-shaped cup 6, all of which can be quickly assembled and disassembled and disassociated; that it is exceedinly economical to construct, can be assembled by any unskilled person or even a child, and can be disassembled or knocked down or the parts thereof disassociated with equal facility. The umbrella shield may be of any desirable size, and the other several parts will be only such size as may be found necessary for strength and durability. In fact, the umbrella shield may be provided in various sizes, and all of the parts of my structure may be packed in a small box for transportation, and in said box may be readily displayed; and it will be also seen that the various parts of my invention can be readily nested for package in small compass, for transportation in Size is not of the essence of my invention, since my umbrella or parasol may be a toy, utilized for advertising or campaign purposes, may be of a size such as will be useful in an emergency or may be made so large as to constitute a sun shield or cover where required at the beaches, on the lawn, on open-air porches,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with an umbrella having a rod, a flexible plaited shield slidably mounted thereon and means at one end of said rod for providing an abutting support for said shield, of means for holding said shield in an open position, said means comprising a centrally apertured disk and a grommet mounted therein for frictional attachment to said rod.

2. An umbrella comprising in combination a rod, a shield slidably mounted thereon having corrugations radiating from its center, a coneshaped frictional cup mounted at one end of said rod for providing. an abutting support for said sl'ield, a centrally apertured disk and a grommet disposed within said aperture for frictional attachment to said rod whereby peripheral sections of said disk engage the corrugations of said shield to keep the same in an open position.

GUSTAVE S. BERMAN. 

